Sports Illustrated: Kentucky is one of 8 teams that could win national title

For many, college basketball does not matter until it’s time to fill out a bracket at the office in mid-March.

SI.com’s Luke Winn tries to give those people a head start every February with his “Magic Eight,” a list that — allegedly — includes the eventual national champion.

Last year, he correctly included Duke. The year before, Connecticut was nowhere to be found.

It’s hit-or-miss, but Kentucky fans can take some kind of solace in the fact that Winn included their No. 14-ranked squad among his eight teams with the best shot at winning a championship.

“The Wildcats aren’t the powerhouse most everyone thought they’d be,” Winn wrote. “They’re lacking the NBA-ready big men that have defined John Calipari’s best title contenders. But I’m not about to risk omitting a team with a Tyler Ulis-Jamal Murray backcourt.”

Ulis and Murray have dragged the ‘Cats from the bottom of the Top 25 back into title contention this month, and Kentucky is now tied with LSU at the top of the SEC standings.